Broken Bridges
by The Documentor
Summary: A lot can change in ten years. Plans can be finished, cities can be built, bridges can be broken. First chapter fic. HC. Rated T to be safe. Now completed.
1. Chapter 1

Broken Bridges

Disclaimer: House not mine.

AN: First chapter fic that I've decided to upload. There's only three relatively short parts and here's the first. Reviews are lovely but flames aren't so lovely. Thanks for clicking : )

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A lot can change in ten years. Plans can be finished, cities can be built, bridges can be broken. Allison Cameron shook her head, trying hard not to believe this fact. She knew that things would have changed as she tugged on her suitcase, leaving the airport terminal with a grim outlook on her trip. Her other hand felt soft as her young daughter towed after her, trying to hold her own suitcase as she sheepishly followed her mother.

"What's the rush, Mom?" The girl tried to shake her head to get her soft tufts of auburn hair from her face.

"There's none," Allison slowed down, forgetting that it was natural to be scared returning to Princeton after all these years, "just keep up. You know I hate being in such busy places."

"Yeah, I know," she looked away, looking over at a screen on the side of the terminal and wondering where her mother was leading her to.

Allison looked around hastily, watching over the crowded room to find a certain oncologist she'd kept in touch with. She'd hoped that after all these years his best friend had remained blissfully unaware that the two had kept in contact. She hadn't even managed an email to her old colleagues whom she believed one to still be working under her former boss, so she found it peculiar yet warming when she'd received an email from someone she'd never really been close to when she worked in the same hospital. She hadn't seen him in seven years since he'd taken the time out to visit her when he'd divorced his third wife. Ever since, emails and the odd letter had been all they had ever done but they both knew everything they needed to about each other. Her daughter had even adopted him as her uncle even though she hadn't seen him since she was three.

"Ellie," Allison turned around to see her daughter standing promptly behind her, "can you see him?"

"I don't remember what he looks like, Mom," she scrunched up her face a little and used her bright blue eyes to scrape the room. Allison looked around a little more before a waving hand caught her attention and a sign that the chocolate haired man beared, screaming 'Cameron's' to the terminal. A grin flew over her face and she tugged on her little girl, running to meet the smiling man.

"Jimmy," she said happily, throwing her arms around the brown-eyed man who patted her on the back in companionship.

"How are you, Allison?" He smiled, his eyes fading over her fragile frame and her gleaming smile to see him.

"Right now, I'm great," she glistened whilst James' face lit up when he caught sight of his niece.

"Ellie!" He said joyfully, picking her up in his arms and she giggled, hooking her arms around his neck.

"Uncle Jimmy!" She screwed up her face and hummed when her uncle put her down, hooking his arm under that of her mother, heading towards the door of the terminal.

"You have grown haven't you?" He reached over a hand to mess up the top of her hair and she stifled a grin.

"She's gorgeous, isn't she?" Allison shivered slightly when the cold winter air nipped at her face as they stepped outside.

"Absolutely." James smiled, looking down at the girl and as she looked back with her astonishingly blue eyes, he couldn't help but think of her father and how he would react to all of this, which has been going on without him.

"So how are you doing at school?" James focused on the road ahead of him, turning a sharp left onto a smaller street.

"Straight A's," Ellie said proudly, tucking her hair behind her ear as she sat in the back of the car.

"She's the smartest in her class, just brilliant," Allison said, the next words she said she wished she could reach out and stuff them back inside her mouth, "just like her father."

James looked over at the now solemn look of her face and knew instantly that she hadn't have wanted to say that aloud. Fortunately, Ellie didn't hear her say anything and didn't question her mother. Allison had shown her the only picture she had of the two of them and this was all she had to go on. She'd been told an anecdote or two and she could vaguely remember her mother and James discussing her father when he visited. Her mother hardly ever spoke of him around her unless she had to and her grandparents never questioned their daughter's choices on the subject.

"What do you want to do first, Ally?" James said, stopping the car at a gas station and she sunk further into her seat relaxing.

"I think it might be a good idea just to rest a little of the jet lag off before sight seeing," Allison lied, she didn't need to see the Jersey she had lived in for three years but only wanted to show her daughter, "have a sleep."

"Good thinking," he said, looking back over his shoulder before getting out of the open car door, "do you want an ice cream?"

"I'd love one, thanks," Ellie smiled, sitting back in her seat as the door shut and her mother heaved a long sigh.

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James' new apartment was colder than the one he had lived in before, but he simply accepted it as his lonely home, absent of women and strangely absent of his best friend who liked to hang around, even when James wasn't home. Allison pulled her hands up to her hair, pulling it back into a psuedo-ponytail after she put her bags down by the couch. She looked around the dark apartment, the only light radiating in from the kitchen as James called that the light bulb needed to be replaced and it had blown just that morning. Allison nodded and thanked him for letting her know. Ellie yawned, the flight was starting to get to her so she sat down on the comfortable couch.

"Make yourselves at home," James came back out from the kitchen with two coffees and a chocolate milk and put them down on the dark coffee table, "just let me change the light."

"Thanks," Allison took a tentative first sip, looking at the mantle piece in the corner of the room. From where she sat, most of the photos were unclear in the light but she could see vaguely who was in each of the pictures. The one in the far corner, she knew, was of James and his sister Linda, smiling over the twin birthday cake they shared on their double birthday party their siblings had thrown for them. She smiled softly, meeting Linda was an experience for her but she was a lovely lady. She looked at the next photo and her smile grew a little bigger when she realised that it was of James, herself and Ellie as a tiny four year old tottering around their feet. She took another sip, watching the small vase that sat in the middle of the three photos and she had to close her eyes again when she saw the next photo. Ten years had been a long time, but something still sat inside her, her daughter reminding her almost every day of the mistake she made. She loved her daughter more than anything in the world, but as she stared at the photo of James and his best friend, she still felt that sense of yearning she had for years. Suddenly, the light shined in her eyes and James nodded at the new light.

"You okay?" He asked her, climbing down from the step-ladder and patting her on the arm.

"I'm fine, it's just," she shook her head, pausing in her reverie, "hard."

"I know," he smiled sympathetically, rubbing her cheek a little.

"Ellie, don't you think you should get some sleep?" Allison looked over at her daughter who nodded, yawning again as she stood up to walk to the hallway.

"Good night," she said softly and bid the pair goodnight.

"How've you been taking all of this?" Allison's eyes averted from her coffee to the man questioning her, she simply sighed and pursed her lips.

"Better than I thought," she swayed her head a little and he took another sip of his coffee, she'd been waiting for the opportune moment all day so she bit the bullet and asked him, "you didn't tell him did you?"

He looked up at her, she thought he might have been offended but he simply shook his head in disagreement.

"No, not unless you wanted me to," he pinched his fingers and ran them in circles over the table.

"No, no, thank you." She said, shaking her head. She reached for her purse, feeling through it in haste of a paper object. James lifted his eyebrow in question but as she lifted a string of faded photographs, he suddenly knew.

"I don't know if I've shown you these, but they've helped me a little," she looked at the photos wistfully and handed them over to James, who fed them through his fingers like it was an old friend.

He watched the faded photographs which still showed some of their colour but were obviously worn with dog ears and small tears at the sides. He sadly smirked as the two people who smiled back at him embraced, Allison's long hair fell over her shirt and she gleamed in the arms of the blue eyed man she posed with. They were obviously cramped into a photo booth but they looked happy with dripping ice creams and younger faces. He looked up from the photos to meet Allison's eyes and it hadn't hit him before, but her eyes suddenly looked tired and her skin was pale and worn. She was still as beautiful as she'd always been and if you had only just met her, you wouldn't be able to tell what she'd been through. But as his old-timed eyes scanned her face, he knew that the last ten years hadn't been exactly a dream for her. He looked back down to the photograph and handed it back to her sad hand, the solemn smirk still evident on his face.

"I hadn't seen those before," he lied, they'd been sitting on his best friend's desk near his computer for ten years, "they're nice."

"Yeah," she nodded sadly, replacing them back into her purse and laying back on the chair.

"What are you going to say?"

"You know what," she looked up at the ceiling, "I don't know."


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you sure you can do this?"

"I'm sure." Allison squeezed her daughters hand, shutting the door to the black car and walking towards the elevator from the parking lot. It was a soft sense of deja vu as she visualised her laptop bag under her arm and the days work ahead of her. James had yet again adorned the tell tale lab coat as it swished in the wind as the elevator opened to the stairs in front of the clinic.

"I made sure he wasn't on clinic this morning, don't worry." James smiled, pushing open the door for her and faces turned as the older Allison walked through the door, holding onto a calmer, younger version of herself.

Immediately, old nurses turned around and recognised her instantly. As she walked past, people acknowledged her just as they used to when she walked through the hospital. The clinic looked exactly the same as it did when she left, with the whining patients and everything, doctors passing through the rooms and young doctors she didn't recognise wore tight lab coats, flinging files every which way. Doctors whom had been there all those years bid her sweet hello's as she passed, simply nodding even if she didn't remember them. It seemed like hours before she stepped into the elevator again. Nothing had changed as her moment of vertigo had ended.

"Does Chase still work here?" She asked James sheepishly and he nodded.

"Second floor ICU," he said, the door sliding open to the second floor and the people behind them fed through.

"Do you mind if I see him first? I might have a little more confidence after that," she asked him, he simply nodded and held the door open.

"Good luck explaining it to him," he smiled and she nodded, raising her eyebrows in defeat as the door slided shut.

She turned the corner into the door blazing 'Dr. Robert Chase, Intensive Care Unit' and she gulped, not sure how she would explain to him let alone to her daughters father.

"Mom, what's up?" Ellie made a peep, she hadn't spoken much all that morning, sheepishly keeping quiet in her mother's moment of nostalgia.

"I haven't seen Robert in ten years either," she said, taking in a large breath before taking a step, "come in with me. He's nice, don't worry."

She knocked on the door, the blonde man inside looked up and his face faded from confusion to happiness within seconds.

"Allison?" He said, leaning back in his seat and instantly Allison could see that the ten years hadn't only been long for her.

"The very same," she smiled, still tugging at her daughters hand who had her eyes shut in the new light of the room.

"How've you been all these years?" He instantly came around the desk and threw his arms around her, embracing her in a soft hug, he noticed the blinded girl behind her and moved away, looking at her suspiciously, "and who's this?"

"This is my daughter, Elliot. You wanna say hi, Ellie?" She looked behind her and Ellie brought her hand to her eyes, opening them and seeing Robert who beamed.

"Hi there," Robert said, extending a hand for her to shake, she smiled even though still squinting so much that only her pupils could be seen.

"Hi," she said, Robert giving them the motion to sit down and they did.

"So, are you married now or something?" Robert was upfront at asking, Allison flinched and she should have expected his ignorant bluntness she'd gotten used to over the years they'd worked together.

"No, single mom. It's hard work you know," she smiled, looking at Ellie who simply kept her eyes shut.

"Are you okay? Is it the light?" Robert asked, getting up and shutting the window, letting Ellie open her bright blue eyes fully. Robert got a lump in his throat when a theory came to mind about why his old friend was a single mother, he wanted to ask her that question whilst he was sober with her and Allison could see that he was bursting.

"Hey Ellie, you want to go and get some coffee from the cafeteria? It's just down the hall," Allison got out her purse, handing a few green notes to her daughter, "white and one for me and black with two for you?" She looked at Robert who smiled and nodded, liking the fact that she had remembered how he liked his coffee, "get an ice cream for yourself if you want."

"Thanks, Mom," she smiled and hopped up from her seat, closing the door behind her and Robert sighed.

"So how've you been handling every thing?" Robert asked her, noticing that she looked older but she still had that glow about her.

"What's there to handle? Sure, looking after her and being a doctor at the same time is hard, but it gets me through the day."

"I meant that..." he let the sentence trail, hoping that she would get the message and luckily, she did.

"Yeah. It's hard when she does something particularly him and I still haven't moved on. It's ten years Robert," her eyes were starting to look tired and she sighed, "and here I am. Wilson's been kind enough to have me at his apartment which will be hard if he turns up half drunk one night."

"Are you going up to meet him?" Robert was glad that she was being upfront because that meant that he could be too.

"Eventually. I hope."

"I'll look after Ellie when you do, if you want."

"That would be great," she sighed from relief, "but be warned. She's sweet but when she's in the mood, she has her father's wit."

"Really?"

"Yep." Allison lifted up her eyebrows and nervously laughed.

"So...I don't mean to be rude, but did something happen when you were still here that me and Foreman were oblivious to?"

"Well, you know how we went to the truck rally all those years ago," he nodded and listened closely, "I went back to his place. One thing led to another and..."

"Right. So was that why you left?"

"I had no idea by that time, it was only a few weeks after. I didn't know but when I found out, I ran. I didn't want him turning up at my apartment one night, drunk out of his mind and wondering why my stomach had grown. It was the lesser of two evils."

Robert hummed, looking down at his fiddling fingers, wondering whether she should know what happened when she left. Truly, he was miserable. His wit lessened, he'd been taking multiple days off and his Vicodin level went dangerously high. Wilson had been in the pits because his wife was harassing him for spending so much time with his miserable friend and once again, like he had five years before, he was left to pick up the pieces. Robert and their other colleague, Eric, had still been working under him then and their lives were made miserable by his hermit behaviour and the taunts that flew worse than usual. Robert shook his head, sighing again.

"I think you should go see him. Grab Ellie and I'll talk to her whilst you're gone."

She nodded, picking up her purse and standing up over the desk. She turned to leave but just before she slid out of the door, she looked over her shoulder and smiled at him solemnly. He wished her good luck and she shifted her eyes to the wall, nodding again and she shut the door with a soft click.


	3. Chapter 3

Soft melodies fed through his head, the headphones fitting over his head perfectly and he sighed, feeling alright for the time being. He'd needed to relax, his old iPod still his closest friend who knew everything about him and told him everything he needed to know. His sleek, black cane rested over his lap and his hands clasped the top, reclining in his old leather chair and his black Chuck Taylors showing out the end of his worn jeans. He swayed a little to the side, another high note blowing into his ears made him feel better. Music had always been his therapy, from when he was thirteen and first tinkering on the piano to when his heart was broken and the whiskey ran dry.

She froze up, there he was. Peaceful, lying awake in the cool breeze running in from the window. She stood in front of the glass office that seemed to have not changed since she left, the tall lamp still holding strong and the music poster to the side. The desk was still cluttered, she'd always been the one to clean it a little in the morning with her hot mug of coffee and a million emails to answer. She let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding and grasped the handle. She knew that the door creaked when it opened so as soon as she went in, she was almost sure he would look up and then she wouldn't be able to go back.

The point of no return. She laughed internally. It had a ring to it.

She slid open the door, making the tell-tale scratch on the carpet she'd grown on but contrary to her theory, he simply swayed another note and stayed blissfully unaware. Her brain screamed to go back, leave now before you get hurt. The problem was, she was already hurt. Somewhere in the back was whispering to walk on strong and wake him up without a second thought but this voice was getting to her. Drawing in a long, drawling breath, she took a step forward, trying to keep some sort of balance in her step. Reaching out, she sofly tapped the glass table in front of them and she silently hoped for the best.

His eyes folded open to the monotonous offending noise and as his mouth opened to a slit to retaliate, he caught her blazing green eyes and a lump caught in his throat, stopping him from speaking. She froze again, his blue eyes stung through her as he watched and inside, she was screaming for him to say something, break the constricting silence. Gregory House hadn't laid eyes on this woman for a long time and his breath caught, only mutterings were allowed from his mouth.

"Allison." He said simply, pulling his headphones from his crown and setting them down on the table, the soft opera still wafting from the small speakers.

"Greg." She whispered back, running her fingers along the edge of the glass table.

"Where have you been?" He looked over her, the years had taken away at her but he still found her stunning in her early forties.

"Nowhere, really." She couldn't say much more, looking over him, she realised that he hadn't been in the best of sorts. His skin was paler still, his hair a dark grey and he somehow looked more gaunt than he did when she'd left. She expected him to age gracefully and that's exactly what he'd done.

"It's nice to see you again." He said, pulling his legs off the table and walking out from behind his desk. Scared that he was going to leave her, she hastily grabbed hold of his arm as he started to walk.

"Please, don't leave." She whispered meekly, hanging her head and he turned around, walking back to the couch. As she watched his gait, she noticed that his limp was more pronounced than it had ever been. She followed his lead, sitting on the other side of the couch with her back straight and her head held high when really, she was scared.

"How are you? How's Elliot?" He sighed, blinking with his eyes closed and her mouth clogged with a cocktail of words. He opened his eyes to see her discomfort and shook his head.

"Went looking for Wilson once and had his emails open. I never mentioned it to him after I read it. Didn't really want to talk about it to him," he let out a small laugh, putting his cane to his head and rubbing his forehead with it.

"So what else do you know?" She asked, she knew she sounded frustrated but he let out a breath of air.

"That's it. All I knew is that you had a baby girl called Elliot. Nothing more, nothing less."

"I...guess that's good."

"Why?" His eyes stung blue and she drew in air, half happy that he had already covered the hardest part but dreading the fact that he didn't know all that he needed to.

"I asked Wilson never to discuss it with you. If you didn't want to, that's even better."

"I guess that maybe the only person to talk to about your one night stand to forget about a one night stand is your bestest buddy whose agreed to not let other bestest buddy know. Fair enough."

"It wasn't a one night stand to forget about a one night stand," she looked away from him, slumping her strong sitting stance, "it was a one night stand."

"So what are you saying?" For once, Greg was confused with what she was trying to get at and she sunk further, realising that being blunt would be the best and worst move for both of them. So she tried to be forward with soft words.

"I didn't have a one night stand after I left to forget about you, House. I barely even left the apartment after I left work. That said, she's still the product of a one night stand."

"So she's..." The realisation hit him like a tonne of bricks and he let out a long sigh as she nodded.

"And so here I am." She said softly and she could tell that he would be upset. Ready to flinch, she left space for him to say something, anything.

"Is she here with you?" He said, crestfallen that his daughter had lived a life without him for a decade.

"Yes."

"Where is she?"

"With Chase."

"You'd leave her with Chase and not me?"

"I needed to talk to you alone first."

"I see it. It wouldn't matter if she's away for another ten minutes just to sort out what's been going on for ten years, sure. Whatever, Cameron."

"I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? That can't even begin to sum it up," he felt like he had fifteen years ago, yelling at the woman who'd crippled him but this woman had kept a secret from him for ten years.

"No, it can't. What else could I have done?" Her voice started to raise like his, tears started to brim in her eyes.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe told me and not told my best friend to keep it from me?"

"I didn't think you'd take it well. I didn't know what you'd think so I figured it was just easier to wonder and not know."

"What did you think?"

"I thought..." she didn't want to tell him what she thought, but she almost thought it was best for him to know.

"I thought you wouldn't want her."

He stood up abruptly, he felt like he was shrinking like he had so many years ago when he stood and he started to pace. Something many people assumed was that he wanted to die a bachelor without any attachments because that was easier on the world around him. Truly, he'd always wanted a wife and if he was lucky, maybe a little one to tottle around his toes. He wasn't always such a bastard and a kid of his own would grow up different, like he had. He'd always wanted someone to pass himself onto and now he'd been given the chance, but she'd been taken away from him. Away from his memories and away from what's real. The silence around the small office stayed for a while as he simply paced from one side to the other and she sat still on the couch, sitting in her misery. Half an hour, an hour passed in soft silence. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it was allowing them to collect thoughts. Suddenly, he stopped pacing, he'd made up his mind.

"A common misconception about me is that I'm all about the now. The past hurts and the future is grim, so the present is the focus of me. Not true. That I don't want to grow old with someone at my side and maybe another trailing at my feet. A myth."

"I'm sorry. I made mistakes. Big ones. And for them, I am sorry." She said again, she looked ghostly in the fading light of the new evening and she fiddled with her fingers, not wanting to look up.

"I know." He forgave her, something he couldn't do normally. It took him five years to forgive Stacy and ten to come to terms with Allison. She stood up, her long hair was tied into a ponytail swung behind her back as she approached him carefully. He took hold of her shoulders, just taking the time to look at her. Her eyes looked up at him, filled with hope, fear and regret. Her small frame stood strong close to his and he couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking. She looked up at him, his bright blue eyes piercing holes in hers and she felt his cane brush up again her back as he pulled her tightly into his arms. She let her arms extend up to his neck and he discarded his cane onto the couch. Suddenly, a small knock on the door stopped the moment. Allison threw her head over his arm, resting her cheek on his chest and there stood her confused looking daughter.

"Elliot, meet Dr. House." She smiled, her cheeks going a little red when she looked back up at the bewildered Greg. His eyes shone and even though he looked indifferent, a million thoughts blew through his mind as his daughter approached the embracing pair.

"Hi." Ellie smiled, extending her hand and Allison pulled back hesitantly from Greg, whom took his daughter's hand.

"Hey there, kiddo." He smiled, pulling her a little closer and scruffed up her hair a little. Her cheeks flushed, just as her mothers did, when her father brought her in for a hug as it should have been. Allison didn't think she'd seen him ever happier after such a grueling time sorting it all out. Everything just seemed right, things seemed all right just for that little time when the family was together even for a little bit. The details would be left for later but right now, she just tucked her arm under the other and watched them both smile in each others company.

A lot can change in ten years. Plans can be finished, cities can be built, bridges can be broken. But everything can be fixed in time.

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Thanks for reading and thanks to my reviewers. You've been lovely. I hope you liked the story and thanks for clicking in the first place. : )


	4. Author's Note

Hey guys…

Sorry, you're probably all thinking of various ways to kill me because this is purely an author's note, but it bears good news. I am in the process of musing ideas for a sequel to this, but you have to understand that I wrote this nearly a month ago and it was a spur of the moment uploading too. I have only about one solid idea in the mix but I want a few more just to play around with. I'll wait until the other plot bunnies get sick of living in my head and splash onto the keyboard before I can really focus on the sequel. I'm sure you know what it's like.

Thank you all so so much for your support and it makes me really REALLY happy that people actually like my writing so much. I'll stop now before my head explodes.

Just keep your eyes open and I shall deliver…: D


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